accretion disk
The Hubble and FU Orionis: a New Look at an Old Mystery
In 1936 astronomers watched as FU Orionis, a dim star in the Orion constellation, brightened dramatically. The star's brightness increased…
Astronomers Map the Shape of a Black Hole's Corona for the First Time
The Sun is surrounded by the corona, a region of superheated gas above the surface that can be millions of…
Simulating the Accretion Disk Around a Black Hole
Black holes are by their very nature, challenging to observe and difficult to spot. It's usually observations of the accretion…
Not All Black Holes are Ravenous Gluttons
Some Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs) consume vast quantities of gas and dust, triggering brilliant light shows that can outshine an…
A Black Hole Has Cleared Out Its Neighbourhood
We can't see them directly, but we know they're there. Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) likely dwell at the center of…
A Bizarre Pulsar Switches Between Two Brightness Modes. Astronomers Finally Figured Out Why.
Pulsars are the lighthouses of the universe. These rotating dead stars shoot twin jets of radiation from their poles, usually…
Hungry Black Hole was Already Feasting 800 Million Years After the Big Bang
Black holes swallow everything—including light—which explains why we can't see them. But we can observe their immediate surroundings and learn…
A Monster Black Hole has Been Found Right in our Backyard (Astronomically Speaking)
Using data from multiple observstories, a team of astronomers has discovered a monster blackhole right in our backyard!
A Star has Grown Spiral Arms
Astronomers using the ALMA Observatory have discovered an unusual, massive star near the center of our galaxy, a star that…
A New Idea to Harness Energy From Black Holes
A new study by an international team shows how the physics of a black hole's event horizon could allow us…